Temple ready to build upon last season

When San Antonio Spurs’ guards, Tony Parker and George Hill, suffered injuries in the last season, the Spurs signed Garrett Temple out of the D-League’s Rio Grande Valley Vipers, to a 10-day contract to help fill the void at the point guard position.

Many Spurs fans were left scratching their heads as to who was Temple and did he have what it takes to step in for players such as Parker and Hill? Those questions were answered immediately when Hill suffered a late season injury and Temple got his first NBA start against the Sacramento Kings.

Stepping in for Hill, Temple poured in 15 points, 4 assist, and 3 rebounds, in 27 minutes of play against the Kings helping the Spurs secure the win. Even after that great performance, he showed what really mattered, the team, “The biggest thing honestly is that we get the win no matter if I had two points, seven turnovers. As long as we won the game, that’s the big thing.”

In all, he played a total of 13 regular season games and averaged 6.2 points, shot 43.8 from the field in 14.8 minutes per game. Not bad for someone who has been bounced around in the NBA playing for the Kings, Houston Rockets and been in D-League. Not to mention producing for a championship team like the Spurs late in the season when the team was making a playoff push.

While I was at the 2010 NBA Summer League I caught up with Temple to get his thoughts on his goals for the upcoming season and much more.

“Get healthy and learn as much as I can from the coaching staff. To get back in shape and just stay confident and do whatever they need me to do to be a part of the team next year,” said Temple on his immediate goals for the summer.